Following Evergreen's defeat, the previously petrified woman steps into Magnolia, separating into groups to recover their defeated companions and face off against the remaining two members of the Thunder God Tribe.
However, during this time, the Thunder God Tribe didn't stay inactive; Fried, after leaving the cathedral, encountered Alzack, who desperately fought against him, though given the gap between them, it mattered not, as he was quickly defeated.
Bickslow happened to meet previously defeated members, Macao and Wakaba, though given how they were already injured, he made short work of them, dispatching them with only a few attacks.
Walking through the streets of Magnolia, Lucy and Cana happened to see Max leaning against a wall, prompting them both to quicken their pace and approach him. "Max, are you okay?" As Cana grabbed his arm, wrapping it around her shoulders, Max softly nodded through a cough while shifting his weight onto her. "Ugh, y-yeah, could be b-better though. H-How did you guys get free?" "Mira defeated Evergreen." At Lucy's words, Max sighed in relief.
"N-Nice." With Max being supported by Cana, the three of them continued down the street before setting Max down on a bench just outside the mall. "Ahh, an actual seat, so much better." "Are you sure you're okay?" Lucy's concern was met with a reassuring nod. "Y-Yeah, looks worse than it actually is, w-won't be much help in a fight, but if you need me, you know where to find me."
"Anyways, be careful, Gray might've entered the mall; I saw him heading in this direction earlier." Gesturing to the mall to his right, Lucy and Cana looked at it before nodding. "C'mon, Lucy, let go and rescue Gray." "Um, just to know we're on the same page, Gray could defeat us both, right?" With a nervous expression, Lucy trailed behind Cana as the two headed for the mall. "Yeah, most likely. He's one of the strongest non-S-class mages." "So if Gray needs rescuing, whoever is in there is probably someone we can't face."
While Cana nodded in agreement with Lucy's words, her stride didn't slow in the slightest as she entered the mall. "But with Gray's help, we should be fine; me and him are two of the most veteran mages." Smirking confidently, Cana glanced at Lucy while pointing a thumb at herself. "Yet neither of you is S-class mages, so much for being a veteran." Quietly muttering to herself, Lucy lowered her head and sighed, already accepting whatever their outcome would be.
As they headed into the mall, following the path of melting ice and destruction, the clear signs of a battle, the two eventually found Gray sprawled on the ground, and not too far away, Macao and Wakabe were in the same state. "Aren't Macao and Wakabe like the most veteran mages besides Master?" Shooting Cana, an Inquisitive look, Cana's face twitched as she kneeled beside Gray. "Tch, just help me, smart ass."
As the duo rolled Gray onto his side, Cana slapped his cheeks a few times, stirring him awake. "Ugh, I-I'm awake, you drunkard, stop slapping me." Groaning in pain and annoyance, Gray squinted at Cana before slapping away her hands. "What happened, Gray?" "Tch, I was careless, got caught in a trap by Bickslow; if it weren't for that, he would've been the one lying on the ground."
Grabbing Cana and Lucy's outstretched hands, they pulled Gray onto his feet, prompting him to dust himself off, though, before they could comment, laughter was heard, followed by a large green beam heading for them.
Just before the attack reached them, Gray created an ice-wall, protecting Lucy and Cana, leaving him only with enough time to cross his arms, bracing for impact and leaping into the air. As the large green beam collided with the floor where he'd just been standing, the force of the explosion sent him through the second-story floor and the roof, his figure disappearing into the sky in a beautiful arc.
"Hahaha, those were some arrogant words, Gray, and that was a beautiful arc, one of my best masterpieces!" Bickslow, standing on the railing of the second floor, looked up at the hole before shifting his focus to the crumbling ice wall, while his dolls, which had been spinning in a vertical circle formation, stopped and floated around him.
"Lucy and Cana, for you two to be here, Evergreen must've been defeated. It was probably Mirajane, wasn't it? I sensed her magic power; it makes sense that she was defeated. Even all three of us wouldn't have been able to beat her." With a slightly disappointed yet understanding expression, Bickslow's frown switched to a wide grin as he clapped his hands, gazing at the two mages.
While Lucy and Cana faced off against Bickslow, in a different part of Magnolia, Bisca, Laki, and Juvia had just encountered an unconscious Alzack, though just as Bisca ran towards him, she was attacked, though thanks to Laki's caution, she managed to react fast enough, creating a wall of wood between Bisca and the attack.
"Bisca!" "I-I'm okay! Thanks." Biting her lip, Bisca leaped backwards, regrouping with Laki and Juvia while equipping a rifle, pointing it at the person the attack had originated from, Fried. Holstering his sword, Fried looked at the three mages, his gaze indifferent as he approached them.
"Fried, can't we just talk this out?" Laki, who prefers intellectual conversations to fighting, while ironically being a Fairy Tail mage, tried speaking to Fried, though he just shook his head. "I do not speak with the enemy." Bisca, needing no more reasons to attack, fired at Fried, who dashed to the right, dodging her repetitive attacks.
Juvia quickly joined in, attacking Fried, and their combined attacks forced him to unsheathe his sword as he deflected their blows. Laki, seeing Juvia and Bisca attacking, just sighed before also joining, using Juvia's water to increase the firepower of her wood-make magic.
However, even with three mages coordinating their attacks, Fried was still showing his superior capabilities as he was able to react to all their attacks. "If this is all you have, let me end this quickly." Following his words, Fried's eyes changed, taking on a blackish hue while his pupil glowed purple.
With quick speed, Fried used his fingers to write runes in the air before attacking them, sending them directly at Bisca, Juvia, and Laki, causing their eyes to widen as they were suddenly hit with immense pain, causing them to scream in agony.
"ARRGGHHHHH!" Collapsing to their knees or to the ground, the three grabbed where the runes had hit them on their bodies. Before the pain subsided, Fried wrote three more runes and sent them at each of them, filling their minds with an unnatural amount of fear, causing them to grab their heads as they hyperventilated, the intense fear overwriting their ability to properly breathe.
"S-Stop, please stop!" "I-I don't want this! Stop!" "G-Gray! Gray, where are you!?" The combination of the two Dark Écriture spells, pain and fear, was too much for the three mages to handle; however, just when they were about to be struck down by Fried, a figure crashed through a nearby building before tumbling into the street.
"Ugh, that bastard; was he trying to kill me?" Groaning in pain while angrily muttering under his breath, Gray slowly stood up while dusting himself off; however, his thoughts were interrupted when he noticed the three of them.
"What the? Hey! What happened!?" Staring at Juvia, Bisca, and Laki, confused about how they were here, he quickly pushed aside such thoughts and ran towards Juvia, the closest one, and grabbed her. "G-Gray! Y-You really came?" Like a spell, the fear that had been plaguing Juvia's mind promptly vanished when her gaze landed on Gray, as for the pain, it had already subsided, as it was merely a temporary spell.
Before he could respond, he noticed an attack headed for him from the corner of his eyes, causing him to push Juvia away while leaping, causing the attack to pass right where they had been. "Tch, Fried. Good, after what Bickslow, I need to beat someone up… Juvia, help Bisca and Laki."
Clicking his tongue, Gray glared at Fried while cracking his fingers, then addressed Juvia, who slowly nodded, her mind still preoccupied with how he had touched her body.
With Juvia helping Bisca and Laki while Gray fought Fried, in the heart of the city, just outside the cathedral, Erza, having just arrived, came to a stop beside Mirajane.
"Has he done anything?" Mirajane shook her head at Erza's question, causing her brows to furrow. "He's done nothing." "He's not even trying to hide; with Master unable to leave and big bro absent, he knows no one is a threat to him." Frowning, annoyed at her own truthful words, Erza tightly gripped her hilt while staring at the entrance to the cathedral.
"Big bro shouldn't be absent for much longer; he should've figured out something is wrong by now." Following Mirajane's words, Erza glanced at her with a raised eyebrow, causing her to faintly chuckle. "Fufu, he acts like it, but big bro isn't stupid; he can be quite perceptive when he wants." "I tend to forget." "Understandable."
Stabbing her sword into the ground, Erza stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Mirajane. "Let's keep waiting then. If Laxus makes a move, we'll be the first ones to stop him." "I'd rather not fight him if we can." Although Erza didn't verbally respond, the tightening of her expression was an agreement in and of itself.